Toyota Corolla 2005 Problems

HOPE you have kept careful records of your dealings with the dealers. If not, start now and write down what you can remember of the events to date because you are going to have to tackle Toyota head-on with this one. It might be worth your while to seek out other Corolla owners and compare notes, and our readers might be able to help here. You could also drive similar cars to see if the noise is normal. But contact Toyota's Customer Assistance people directly and ask their involvement in solving this problem. If need be, demand a Toyota person drive your car.

I WOULDN'T buy the BA Falcon with the dedicated LPG system. It's old LPG technology and suffers stalling, stumbling, surging and lack of performance unless it's well maintained. A better alternative is to buy a regular BA wagon and have it converted to dual fuel using one of the latest gas-injection systems that have no drive-ability problems. I get too many complaints about the Falcon to recommend it. The VZ wagon was available with a dual-fuel LPG system developed by IMPCO and using a gas-injection system. That is a good way to go, but I wouldn't recommend buying a VZ wagon and having it converted, because there are said to be problems with the regular Alloytec engine when running on LPG. The Mazda6 is a good car with a good reputation for reliability, as is the Corolla, and I'd be happy to buy either.

No, it's not a regular maintenance item and it's most unusual that shock absorbers would need replacing at such low kays. She would have been better off to seek a second opinion before accepting the advice.

Red is one of the worst colours for this sort of problem, it might look great, but it's a colour to be avoided. There's not much you can do about it, other than repainting the affected areas. It could be worth consulting a paint specialist, such as Graeme Cuthbert (0422 444 335) and get an opinion on what action you cold take to fix the problem.

Toyotas generally have a belt change interval of 150,000 km, but to be sure check the service booklet, which will show the correct interval.